Petr Pavel has been elected President of the Czech Republic

Almost 3.36 million voters cast their ballots for Pavel, roughly 960,000 more than for Babiš. Pavel won in most regions and the vote from Czech citizens living abroad, while Babiš won the Karlovy Vary, Moravian-Silesian and Ústecký Regions.

The ANO chair has acknowledged his defeat. He said he hopes Pavel will be a president for all citizens who perceives their problems and fights for Czech interests.

Timeline

28. 1. 2023, 22:00

Incoming President Petr Pavel gave an interview to public broadcaster Czech Television.

28. 1. 2023, 19:40

The high number of votes for the winner of the second round of the presidential elections and his future relationship to the Government of Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala (Civic Democratic Party – ODS) are being noticed by the first commentators posting on Czech websites. Lidovky.cz is warning that Pavel cannot fulfill all of his voters’ wishes. Seznam Zprávy says the successful candidate should refrain from engaging in the triumphalism of victors. The commentary in Deník N asks whether the direct election of presidents in the Czech Republic shouldn’t be abolished given the amount of disinformation in this year’s election campaign.

28. 1. 2023, 19:20

“I thank everybody who turned out, for many of my sisters and brother it was the first time they ever participated in an election. It doesn’t matter how you voted, what’s important is that you are taking interest in what is happening in our country. The truth and humility have won, I believe Petr Pavel will brilliantly represent our republic and will ultimately bring people together,” Karel Karika, a local assembly member in Ústí nad Labem, posted to Facebook.

28. 1. 2023, 17:31

The outgoing head of state, Miloš Zeman, has congratulated Pavel on his victory in the democratic elections. He also expressed the hope that he will be a good President of the Czech Republic. Jiří Ovčáček, spokesperson for Prague Castle, posted the message to Twitter.

28. 1. 2023, 17:10

The President of Ukraine, Volodomyr Zelenskyy, has congratulated Pavel on his victory in a Czech-language tweet expressing his appreciation for Pavel’s support for Ukraine and for the fight against Russian aggression.

28. 1. 2023, 16:47

Slovak President Čaputová is in Prague and went to Pavel’s campaign headquarters to congratulate him in person. She called his victory a win for the hope that decency is not a weakness.

28. 1. 2023, 16:18

Speaking after his loss, Babiš thanked his wife Monika for brilliantly dealing with the campaign, as well as the ANO movement and his team. Babiš also said he considered his result in the election to be fabulous because he won more votes than the five parties in the governing coalition did in the parliamentary election. He called on his supporters to accept his loss and asked incoming President Pavel to ask his supporters to calm down. Babiš anticipates Pavel will reach out to him to collaborate if he wants to bring society together given the number of votes he has received. In his view, the presidential election was a new motivation for ANO, which he believes is the only party aiding people in the country, and he called for people to vote for ANO in the next elections to the lower house.

28. 1. 2023, 15:50

Pavel thanked all of the voters who turned out for making it clear that they honor democracy. “I don’t see the voters as either losers or winners,” he said after being elected. In his view, problems have to be solved by people as one society even if they’ve been divided by the campaign, by the crises that are happening in parallel, or by the politics of recent times. According to Pavel, the Czechs deserve to live in a republic that won’t be in a bad mood, but will be a country of comfort. “I think we have what it takes,” he said after his election.

28. 1. 2023, 15:39

“I’m glad my candidate won. I’m convinced he will be a brilliant president. For the voters who didn’t choose him, they don’t have to fear he’ll draw us into a war, etc. This year’s presidential campaign was incredibly heated, and A. Babiš was especially to blame. Now it’s important to come out of our trenches and bridge these gaps together. I believe we’ll succeed,” said Cyril Koky, the expert official on national minorities in the Central Bohemian Region who made no secret of the fact that he would be voting for Pavel in the second round. “I’m enormously glad that the Czech Roma participated in these presidential elections in high numbers. I really hope they will do so in other elections as well, such as the local ones, regional ones, the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies. That is exactly the way to move things forward. There is a need to thank everybody who turned out to cast their ballots, whether for Babiš or for Pavel. You’re all brilliant,” he told news server Romea.cz.

28. 1. 2023, 15:18

The STEM and STEM/MARK agencies have predicted to CNN Prima News that retired General Petr Pavel will win the presidency. After counting the votes from half of the precincts, he is anticipated to win with 58.24 %. The Blindspot AI company predicted that same result for Pavel. According to these forecasts, the leader of the ANO opposition movement, former Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, will be defeated.

28. 1. 2023, 15:17

Petr Pavel has been elected the next President of the Czech Republic, according to the Czech News Agency prognosis on the basis of the preliminary results. After counting the ballots cast in three-quarters of the precincts in the final round, Pavel has 56.16 % and Babiš has the remaining 43.83 %. After the counting of three-quarters of the precincts, Pavel has won more votes than during the first round, while Babiš is down 400,000 votes compared to the first round.

28. 1. 2023, 15:07

Voter turnout in the Předlice neighborhood of Ústí nad Labem was higher than for the first round of the presidential election. In voting precinct number 1014, turnout was 35.65 % and Babiš won 94.87 % of the vote while Pavel won 5.12 %. Precinct 1015 showed similar results.

28. 1. 2023, 15:01

Failed presidential candidate Danuše Nerudová, President of the Czech Senate Miloš Vystrčil (ODS) and Finance Minister Zbyněk Stanjura (ODS) are already congratulating Pavel on being elected head of state.

28. 1. 2023, 15:00

With half of the ballots counted, retired General Petr Pavel has won 54.96 % of the vote. Second place goes to the ex-PM and chair of the ANO movement, Andrej Babiš, with 45.03 % of the vote, per the election news server of the Czech Statistical Office.

28. 1. 2023, 14:43

The Chanov housing estate in the city of Most has reported record turnout in the second round of voting. Almost 38 % of residents turned out and Babiš won a crushing victory there with 98.4 % (a total of 246 votes). Pavel won just four votes there.

28. 1. 2023, 14:36

According to estimates from Blindspot AI, tabloid news server Blesk.cz is reporting that Petr Pavel will become the next President of the Czech Republic.

28. 1. 2023, 14:30

According to the data model of news server Seznamzpravy.cz it is clear after counting the first precincts that Petr Pavel will become President of the Czech Republic! According to the predictions he will win between 57.1 ‒ 58.7 % of the vote.

28. 1. 2023, 14:23

“It seems the voice of the Roma will be louder during this election for the presidency. That voice is decidedly not a homogenous one. I personally believe truth and love will win,” commented Czech Government Commissioner for Romani Minority Affairs Lucie Fuková on the increased participation by Romani voters from socially excluded localities in the presidential election.

28. 1. 2023, 14:06

Petr Pavel is the favorite of both opinion polls and betting offices even though his first-round victory was so slim. Voter turnout, given increased interest, could exceed 70 % and set a new record for a presidential election in the Czech Republic. Pavel and his wife have arrived at his campaign headquarters, where he told journalists he slept well last night. “During the day we enjoyed a quiet sitdown with our son, then we got ready and came here,” he said. He didn’t want to guess whether he would manage to defeat ex-PM Andrej Babiš (ANO). “We’ll find out in an hour or two,” he said. Pavel also didn’t want to say anything about the close of the campaign or any errors that might have been committed. “There’s no point in speaking about that now, it’s all in the hands of the people,” he said.

28. 1. 2023, 14:00

Voting in the presidential election has ended. Voter turnout could be a record high. The prognosis as to who will become the next president will be known in a few minutes.

28. 1. 2023, 13:15

Voter turnout will apparently be a record high. In the Municipal Department of Prague 12, for example, it was more than 70 % at 13:00.

28. 1. 2023, 11:16

Participation in the second round of the presidential election was in the 60 % range this morning. It is higher than during the first round, for the most part, when total turnout was 68 %. In the South Moravian Region as of 10:00, 58.52 % of voters had cast ballots. Two weeks ago at that same time voter turnout was 55.58 %, according to regional spokesperson Alena Knotková. The highest turnout was in Letovice, with 63.88 %, the lowest in Adamov, where 51.85 % of the electorate turned out so far. In Brno, as of 10:00, voter turnout was 60.46 %. At that same time five years ago, 56.82 % of voters had cast ballots, while two weeks ago during the first round of the presidential election turnout was 56.46 %, according to Brno City Hall spokesperson Filip Poňuchálek.

28. 1. 2023, 10:57

Voter turnout is higher in the socially excluded localities. It is exceeding the usual numbers from past elections and from the first round of this year’s presidential elections. According to the findings of news server Romea.cz, in Předlice, for example, turnout is between 20-30 %. During the first round in precinct 1014 voter turnout was 19 %; customarily turnout there is less than 10 %.

28. 1. 2023, 8:00

The second day of the final round of the presidential election is beginning in the Czech Republic. This afternoon the name of the next president will be known. The closing debate between candidates Andrej Babiš and Petr Pavel could aid those who didn’t manage to vote on Friday with deciding whom to vote for today. Polling places will open at 14:00, after which the election commissioners will begin counting.

27. 1. 2023, 22:00

The first day of the closing round of the Czech presidential elections has ended at 22:00. About half of the electorate has cast ballots, frequently more than were cast during the first round, the Czech News Agency reports. In Brno, as of 21:00, voter turnout was 54.41 %. Five years ago at that same time just 50.25 % had come to the polls. Two weeks ago, during the first round of the presidential elections, turnout was 49.97 %, according to Filip Poňuchálek, spokesperson for Brno City Hall. In the South Moravian Region, turnout was 51.79 % as of 21:00. The highest turnout was recorded in Boskovice, 57 %, the lowest in Hrušovany nad Jevišovkou, at 44.8 %, according to regional spokesperson Alena Knotková.

27. 1. 2023, 19:05

Billionaire Karel Janeček, who did not manage to collect enough signatures to run for president, has voted for General Petr Pavel in the second round. Janeček had also targeted Romani voters when collecting the signatures for his candidacy and some actively aided him with that effort. “I borrowed this flannel shirt from my wife. It fits me a bit better than these elections do,” he posted to Twitter. [Translator’s Note: Flannel shirts are being worn by supporters of Pavel.]

27. 1. 2023, 18:40

In what are called the socially excluded localities of Ústí nad Labem, the second round of the elections is enjoying great interest. During the hour and a half since polls opened in a precinct at the Mojžíř housing estate, where turnout is usually low, 12 % of voters have already cast ballots so far, local registrar Michal Vrbíček told the Czech News Agency (ČTK). Five years ago, 19.98 % of the electorate eventually turned out during the second round of the presidential elections. In the Ústecký Region, as of 16:00, turnout was, on average, 19 %, Magdalena Fraňková, spokesperson for the Regional Governor, told ČTK.

27. 1. 2023, 18:15

The polls have been open for roughly two hours and turnout for the second round of the presidential election is between 20 and 30 %, according to correspondents for the Czech News Agency. During the first round two weeks ago, turnout was frequently just 20 % during the first two hours. The interest of people voting absentee from the ski slopes, for example, is higher than it was during the first round. Both candidates are expecting record turnout.

27. 1. 2023, 17:40

Czech Regional Development Minister and chair of the Pirates, Ivan Bartoš, who cast his ballot today just after 17:00 at the Primary School on Sázavská Street in Prague, has indirectly confirmed to journalists that he voted for Pavel. He also said the decision was easy. “The idea that I would vote for Andrej Babiš could never occur to anybody at any point in history,” he said, adding that he believed Babiš went too far in his campaign with scaring voters.

27. 1. 2023, 17:30

In the South Moravian Region, as of 16:30, voter turnout was 24.84 % according to regional spokesperson Alena Knotková. The highest turnout was in Rousínov, where 28.3 % of the electorate has cast ballots so far, the lowest in Ždánice, where 19.93 % of voters turned out.

27. 1. 2023, 17:15

During the first two hours of voting in the final round of the presidential elections, turnout is between 20 and 30 %, according to the Czech News Agency. At this same time during the first round it was frequently around just 20 %.

27. 1. 2023, 16:43

Cyril Koky, the specialist official on the area of national minorities in the Central Bohemian Region, has already cast his vote. He publicly supported Petr Pavel at an assembly in Prague.

27. 1. 2023, 16:20

Babiš has cast his ballot and said everybody should vote to decide on the future of the country. He called the election a referendum on that future.

27. 1. 2023, 16:15

In Vřesová, where the mayor is Jiří Sivák and voter turnout is usually low, the local election commission believes more voters might be participating. The first ballot in the second round was cast after 14:00. Babiš won the first round there.

27. 1. 2023, 15:54

Romani men and women also regularly serve as members of election commissions in local precincts. Josef Kaleja, for example, chairs the election commission at a precinct in Louny and has been a member there during more than one election. The chair of the election commission in the Municipal Department of Prague 14 is Štefan Ličartovský. Renata Adamová of Chomutov sits on the election commission there.

27. 1. 2023, 15:35

In Chomutov, local assembly member Renata Adamová (ANO) has cast her ballot. In an interview for news server Romea.cz, she said she voted for Babiš in the first round and would do so in the second.

27. 1. 2023, 15:26

Pavel has cast his ballot in the municipality of Černouček, where dozens of journalists came to record the moment. Local residents expressed their support for him with different signs around the municipality, and somebody has added the inscription “Pavel’s” beneath the sign designating the Černouček city line. Pavel told the press he hopes to perform the role of president on the basis of cooperation, decency and normal communication. He also said a great deal is at stake.

27. 1. 2023, 15:15

Czech President Miloš Zeman cast his ballot in the second round of the presidential election at the Primary School in Lány. He then indicated that he has voted again for Babiš and called on his own voters to do the same. Zeman expressed his appreciation for free elections in the Czech Republic.

27. 1. 2023, 14:58

At the Chanov housing estate in Most, this year’s presidential elections are attracting more attention than previous ones. During the first round of voting, more than 25 % of the electorate came to the polls, which is approximately three times more than usual. As everywhere else in the country, people can vote there as of 14:00 today. Babiš crushingly won the first round there with 93.1 % of the vote.

27. 1. 2023, 14:45

Karel Karika, one of the Romani men and women who successfully ran for office during the local elections, has cast his ballot for president in Ústí nad Labem. Karika is a local assembly member there and voted for Pavel, according to the photographs he published on Facebook; the message reads “I didn’t even know I had a t-shirt with Havel and Pavel on it at home.”

27. 1. 2023, 14:32

Third-place presidential candidate Danuše Nerudová said she hopes turnout for the second round of the presidential election will be at least as high as the first round. In her view the campaign was aggressive and could have deterred some voters.

27. 1. 2023, 14:08

Both presidential candidates said that if they lose they will call on their voters to respect the results. They made those statements at the close of the final debate on public broadcaster Czech Radio.

27. 1. 2023, 14:00

The final round of voting began at 14:00 in the Czech Republic to decide whether Andrej Babiš or Petr Pavel will replace Miloš Zeman as President. The election will be over 24 hours from now.